Truly magnificent. The acting is stunning, I have never seen young untrained kids behave this naturally in front of a camera - thanks to the mainly improvised scenes. There is no big storyline to follow, but Cantet still manages to draw the viewer's attention from the first minute. The film depicts the ups and downs of teaching a classroom full of teenagers with various backgrounds, various personalities in a way I have never seen before.

Another movie I would recommend to anyone, its two hours of french people talking, but is does not bore you for a single second, this is a very well deserved golden palm winner.

French movies are french movies. I usually don't like them, but the sincerity of this one really worked for me.

Damn, ungrateful kids! Refusing to learn, disrespecting the teacher and each other, showing up late and lazy. Difficult not to side with the teachers: I know I wouldn't last five minutes teaching a class like that. Obviously also interesting as a work of (presumably very factional) fiction posing as faction.

It's nice to see a film be so real. No cliche ending here where everything is all better. This could have been categorized as a documentary and I wouldn't have known (well, I would have, but...shut up!) I enjoyed the fact that all the actors' names are their real life names. Deserving of it's Palme d'Or and deserving of my love.

This was a really interesting film, but it felt a little too contrived at times, considering the effect it was going for. I love that it took a serious look at the day to day issues of contemporary education, and I found it interesting to see some of the differences that going to school in France entails.

Cantet directed the piece with standardized documentary affectations -- an air of improvisation, a raw digital image, a bobbing camera and floating frame, no background music -- and the teaching sessions are far less compressed than in the typical school film of minute-and-a-half classes and saved-by-the-bell. The drawback of the rigorously realistic movie is that it seldom adds up to more than the sum of its parts. This isn't the exception.

With a Palme D'or attached, my interest was spiked. A rewarding film that you won't regret putting the time aside to watch it. The conversations feel genuinely real which is "The Class" biggest strength.

Bégaudeau and the kids are remarkably good at keeping the ensemble crackling, especially given that they're not professional actors. Issues with pacing in some places, but this movie is meaningful without "message". The moral gray areas are wisely left that way, admirable given that Bégaudeau has essentially chosen to play -- and write the character as -- himself. It is an honest, genuinely great film, just falling short of the transcendant experience some of the hype had led me to expect.

I don't know how valid it is, but it was wonderful. It was gripping. I kept fucking watching even though there were no Hollywood moments, or perhaps precisely because there were none. It's simply good to watch. You question who is right. Can there be a right? Who is perpetuating the broken system? Everyone? The teachers? The students?

Feeling like a documentary, the film -while filled w/ life's lighter moments as well- doesn't shy away from conveying the ugly truth of how the anti-authority, self-esteem,& pro-youth movements of the past 35 years have degraded standards 2 such depths that they've allowed education in poorer neighborhoods 2 became a painful, nearly impossible chore. Challenges viewers in any country 2 consider the cost & downward spiral of NOT having given up on the persistently disrespectful & disruptive.

A great insight in a teacher's life. The 'actors' are played very realistic , and so is the story. The sometimes shaky and movabele camera results in a very nice and effictive way of filming. A real story , real characters and a great insight in how the society/classroom really is. A correct reflection of what the world is. Some very interesting scene's in it wich show the strenght and way of thinking of children today.

A pure and honest movie about school (have in mind, that this is actually one of the better public schools, a suburban banlieue school would probably be a horror trip). It reminds everyone about their own time sitting in a class room, sometimes wondering why classmates behave the way they do, or what is it that you actually learn for. The movie is an excellent depiction of a condition. It doesn't offer any answers and is very resigned in nature.

The antidote to crap like Dead Poets' Society and Mr. Holland's Opus, The Class possesses a world-weary cynicism that feels earned. Strives a little too hard to hit a climax when continuing with its unadorned realism would have worked fine, but its ending, where the students recollect what they learned over the course of the year, is particularly potent.

For students in The Class, high school is pointless, in effect, a minimum security prison: to move through the system, you have to associate with people you dislike or despise, including your teacher. American high school films often conclude with small victories and a sense of closure. No victories, big or small, are presented here. This is an unsentimental film: its sensibility is French, but American viewers will have no trouble recognizing universal elements in the director's bleak vision.

83

This is a truly breathtaking film, and only the second 100 I have in almost 500 ratings. The triumph of Entre... is that, in the end, this is neither a film about school nor teaching nor learning. This is a film about the interactions of disparate groups in singular situations. The performances are varied and remarkable, the dialogue is the most natural I have ever listened to, and the cinematography dissolves away, leaving the viewer literally "entre les murs." Nothing short of a masterpiece.

Another strong film from Cantet. The camera spends most of its time in close-up, removing any strong sense of objectivity. The accumulation of scenes within the classroom do such a nice job observing that a number of issues are raised--anywhere from immigration to discipline. Excellent film. It's just refreshing to see a film like this with realistic characters--a teacher struggling to help and students that show fleeting flashes of getting it, with lots of tension in between.

Interestingly enough The Class' appeal mainly lies in its documentary-like film qualities which would have probably worked better as a documentary. Overall, it does a pretty good job of showing the ups and downs of a classroom in a French high school. The non professionalism of the teachers and the racial overtones says a lot about the life and times. Overall, it's good but feels heavy handed and while interesting it is also feels devoid of substance outside of artistic aspirations.

One of - if not the best teacher in the classroom movies. My favorite of 2008 for its incredibly believable characters, quiet direction, and attempt at utter realism.

Kudos for achieving documentary like feeling. Great job from all the actors, even the young ones. But I wasn't impressed by the story or the whole idea of the film. It was interesting to see different kind of teaching than I have experienced, but that's about it.

If it stuck to the teaching stuff it would have done better.

very well written, and the teachers and children were all believable. a gripping movie, maybe a little bit too long though.

A fantastically realistic and moving film. I loved every second of it.

A very well made film about a teacher in an inner-city school. Despite the recipe for cliche that the first sentence brings it manages to avoid it. The teacher is not perfect. The students don't all change for the better by the end. It's really nice to see a well-written realistic classroom movie for once. Even though most of the actors in this movie aren't professionals they do a wonderful job. Cinematography is understated but extremely good if you actively watch it.

This could have easily been my American high school. The film is so depressingly realistic that it left crying for hours. Those of you who watched the film and still admonished the students afterwards are entirely soulless. All the cultural and institutional obstacles that prevent students and teachers from seeing eye-to-eye are explored, and they really seem insurmountable.

31 Aralik 08, 17:00, galeria salon2 & hayir, altin palmiyelik bir film degil. fakat evet, fransadaki %u0131rk catismasini bir sinif uzerinden cok iyi anlatmis. sinif uzerinden bahsedilen 'sistem' panaromasi (dikkat, elestiri degil, film elestiri sunmuyor.) basarili. oyunculuklarin cok iyi olduguna katiliyorum. realist bir okul filmi. ucuz bir butce ile kotarilmis, bunu da senaryonun iyi yazilmasina borclu (uyarlandigi kitaba mi demeliyiz yoksa??) bir yapim. diyaloglar yer yer yorabiliyor.

An engaging and unflinching look at an inner city public school year. Having the writer star in the film seems to work particularly well and adds a great deal of resonance to an already excellent film.

I've been thinking about this for a few hours since seeing it and I have some mixed feelings. As a film it's incredibly effective, it feels very natural and real, both in pacing and acting, and I appreciate its deviations from the standard saviour teacher clichés. I'm a bit more conflicted about the message, as I feel it's trying to craft sympathy for the teacher while pretending to be balanced. Maybe if it weren't written and performed by the teacher I would feel less suspicious about motives.

Good, well made, worthwhile film. Teenagers are indeed little b**tards